Consumers may use a transaction account, which may be associated with an account number, credit card, or gift card, as a form of payment or identification in various transactions. Transaction accounts are desirable for a number of reasons. For example, utilizing a transaction account associated with a pre-paid card may be a safe and convenient way to avoid carrying or handling cash and loose change. Also, it is often convenient to give pre-paid cards as gifts or to use pre-paid cards to pay for transactions while traveling.
Although an issuer of a transaction account may distribute the transaction device associated with the transaction account directly to consumers, it is also desirable for an issuer of a transaction account to distribute the card to consumers through a third-party distributor. For example, it may be desirable for an issuer to distribute an account, a credit card, and/or a pre-paid card through a bank. Furthermore, it is often convenient for consumers to purchase transaction cards while conducting other transactions with a third party, such as a bank. For example, an individual may wish to purchase a pre-paid card in conjunction with depositing a check at a bank.
Transaction accounts (with or without a physical card) currently available to consumers include, for example, telephone calling accounts, loyalty accounts, credit cards, and internet accounts. Furthermore, a variety of pre-paid cards associated with various types of accounts are currently sold to consumers. For example, the Travel Funds™ Card by American Express®, enables people to load money on a pre-paid card and then use it, worldwide, at any merchant that accepts American Express or at any of over half a million Automated Teller Machines (“ATMs”) which accept American Express cards.
Unfortunately, the distribution of transaction accounts through distributors is somewhat hindered due to the difficulty and expense of establishing new systems of communication with the distributors. The new system may include an electronic communications system or a paper system for reporting back to the issuer regarding the distribution of the transaction account. Many potential distributors are reluctant to invest in new technology to distribute these products. Similarly, some distributors who might otherwise be inclined to distribute transaction accounts may be reluctant to adopt new systems if additional training is involved. As an example, banking institutions may be reluctant to expand into the selling of pre-paid cards, despite the fact that these institutions may already sell travelers checks, in an effort to avoid the cost of an entirely new communication system or new training associated with the additional product. Thus, it is desirable to develop new methods and systems for facilitating the distribution of transaction accounts that leverage the distributors' existing systems and procedures.
In this regard, the typical backbone for communication in the banking industry is the Magnetic Image Character Recognition (“MICR”) line on the left-hand side on the bottom of checks. The digits in the MICR line indicate, for example, the bank's routing and transit number (so a spent check can be returned to the correct bank), the account number on which the check was drawn, and the check number and the dollar value (which is usually encoded after the check is spent). The banking industry has invested billions of dollars into using the MICR technology and is reluctant to make changes or introduce new technology and processes.
Rather than employ a separate process, the American Express Travelers Cheque business previously leveraged the MICR information and the underlying processes and technologies that are the foundation of check clearing for the entire banking system. A Travelers Cheque is legal tender that may not be associated with an account. Including MICR information on a Travelers Cheque facilitates the routing of the Travelers Cheque back to the issuer for payment when a customer spends the Travelers Cheque.
In addition, when Travelers Cheques are sold, a Purchase Agreement Form (“PAF”) may be included in the envelope that contains the Cheque(s) being sold. This PAF also contains MICR information and the bank may use this form and/or the electronic information on the PAF to notify the issuer when a sale of a Travelers Cheque has occurred. As noted above, the MICR information on the Travelers Cheques and PAFs is the typical backbone for how issuers of Travelers Cheques communicate with all their bank sellers.
However, distributors of Travelers Cheques are not configured to distribute transaction accounts without establishing new communication networks. Thus, a need exists for a new distribution method that can take advantage of existing communication and processing systems to facilitate the distribution of transaction accounts.